Operation Loose Ends
Operation Loose Ends was an operation undertaken by the New Union in its early years. In the time after Operation Dethrone, NU forces discovered several disparate groups of surviving Liberation Front militants. However, initial attempts at settling things were met with hostility, and in some cases gunfire. It quickly became clear that most of them were not interested in a peaceful resolution. As such, 08292 and the rest of New Union command agreed that in order for the New Union to move forward, they would have to finish the war with the remaining Liberation Front groups. Their actions galvanized many surviving resistance groups to start unifying against the New Union, but they did not do so quick enough to contain or destroy the New Union, and were ultimately defeated in most of their efforts. The last surviving combatants and leaders of this anti-New Union force were crushed at the Vale Technology site in October of 2021, marking the end of Operation Loose Ends. The Conflict From the earliest days of the New Union, there were signs that the fight was not quite over. While some surviving PC8 resistance members were too injured, sick, or otherwise desperate to refuse the Union's offers, some were not. Most of these were small bands scattered in the ruined city and the surrounding region. While most of these groups simply gave verbal refusals, a few responded to the arrival of New Union troops by aiming their guns at them. One such group of about a dozen resistance fighters actually opened fire, taking the life of a Judge enforcer and injuring several other New Union soldiers. This group was later killed in its sleep by operatives of the fledgling Shadow division. 08292 did not expect those he had fought against for years to join him easily, but as the New Union expanded onto the mainland it became clear that many surviving Liberation Front groups simply viewed the New Union as a surviving militant group of the Infinite Dominion. To them, so long as the New Union existed, the uprising was not over. Liberation Front operatives that had taken hold of a Dominion Nexus in PC15 were among the first to learn of the existence of the New Union, and so they were not surprised when they spotted a small group of New Union soldiers heading into the area. When the New Union team entered the Nexus, the trap was sprung. They took fire from practically every angle, losing several of their number almost immediately. The NU team's leader quickly ordered a retreat, and the resistance forces eventually broke off the pursuit. Across other parts of Asia, New Union expansion was met almost immediately with harassment by Liberation Front forces who were either already in the area, or had relocated themselves to attack the New Union. As this was going on, resistance groups further away from the conflict were receiving word, and beginning to stockpile weapons, ammunition, and any working vehicles they could get their hands on. They started to group together, and started forming a command center at Vale Technology. From there, the Liberation Front remnants began to organize and consolidate for larger scale operations against the New Union. Several ambushes in the early phases of the conflict caught the New Union off balance, and led to Liberation Front victories. In response, the New Union started training the Shadow division in the use of the sort of guerilla tactics employed by their resistance enemies, and then began using these techniques in the field. As the New Union moved across Eurasia, seeking more recruits, resources, and materiel, more surviving resistance cells and other survivors rose up against the New Union. Many began consolidating their forces, and their operations were increasingly centralized in the Vale Technology site. Ultimately, this centralization played a role in their downfall, as it made them more vulnerable to both guerilla strikes by the Shadow division and more direct attacks on their strongholds by larger New Union armies. These clashes finally came to a head at the Battle of Odessa. After several weeks of fighting, New Union forces ousted the largest Liberation Front force that had been amassed in one place since Dethrone, and scattered them into the wasteland. End of the Resistance One of the last major strongholds of resistance fighters in Europe rallied together nearly 1,000 troops for a raid on a New Union encampment. They had received intel that the New Union was likely to be moving a few hundred troops to retake the long-abandoned PC11, and hoped that by preventing them from doing so, they would be able to at least slow the New Union's thus far unstoppable forward momentum. They massed along the Ain River, and prepared for their assault. However, several nights before their planned raid, forces from the Shadow division raided their base late in the evening. Provisions were burned, vehicles were destroyed, and much of the leadership was assassinated, and the Shadow units successfully evaded most serious resistance. When morning came, the resistance force was left severely demoralized and on the brink of total collapse. Roughly two-thirds of the resistance forces ultimately abandoned the mission and scattered into the wasteland, leaving only around 400 Liberation Front fighters to march on foot towards the New Union's encampment 30 miles to the south of PC11. After days of marching with little food, water, or rest, the resistance force finally spotted the New Union encampment, but found it to be far larger than anticipated. The force they spotted appeared to be in the thousands, rather than the hundreds. Most of the New Union's forces amassed up to this point had been brought to this location to take over PC11. There was confusion in the resistance as to how to proceed. Many wanted to run, while some were prepared to go out fighting. Once it became clear that the New Union had spotted them, and was moving to attack, a decision was forced. A few resistance fighters stepped forward and called for a charge. The fighting was over in less than 20 minutes. The Liberation Front forces quickly found themselves encircled by New Union troops, and were quickly driven into a smaller and smaller space until all that was left was a few dozen resistance fighters, all badly wounded and out of ammunition. These survivors were captured, stabilized, and interrogated, then detained in PC11 once the New Union had retaken the city. Operation Loose Ends was ultimately brought to a close with the New Union's decisive victory at Vale Technology. The last known major cell of Liberation Front activity was defeated in that strike, and any remaining cells that might have survived no longer had the benefit of a command center for coordinating operations. Category:New Union Operations Category:Conflicts